#also LUMINE IS 500 YRS OLD

[wettestwraith]

Wasn't Oli London crying about how "why can't people accept me for being transracial", bro if you can't even support the community you are trying to claim to be a part of why the fuck do you expect people to accept you as "part of the korean community" when you've done nothing to actually immerse yourself in the culture, language and history of Korea and the struggles of the people past the exotification of it

This is what I'm talking about when I say the moral panic around kink and fantasy is a right wing position:

The idea that someone's fantasies or what art they like is an indicator they are a dangerous predator is fearmongering and it specifically targets queer people. The "exposing" of people for their sexuality is a tool of the right to smear someone's name as a sexual deviant, and therefore, someone worthy of punishment and exile. There is nothing leftist about this behavior. If you participate in this kind of "exposing" of "pedophiles" you need to reexamine who you're benefiting and what kind of mentality you're falling into.

[kyogre-blue]

Various Genshin lore bits I picked up from messing around on the wiki, lol. 

Archons: 

The CN term for archon is straight up “demon god” (魔神), which is also used to refer to Ars Goetia demons. All gods whose “real” names were revealed (aka everyone except Guizhong) are in some way named after Solomon’s demons, though some are more of a stretch than others. 

Archons are gods, but not all gods are Archons. The positions of seven archons existed before and during the Archon War, while there were plenty of other gods around. In fact, part of the war was other gods wanting to claim those specific positions. (ie, Decarabian was the previous Anemo Archon, while Andrius was just a god.) Based on this, I would say that normal gods don’t have gnoses, only archons do. This is just my guess tho. 

The Archon War lasted from before Liyue’s founding (3700+ yrs) to about 2000 years ago. Tbh I think it would have been better off called something like “Warring Gods Period” since it wasn’t actually a single continuous conflict. 

Heart’s Desire: 

This is in-story a fictional novel series, but it has a lot of lore hints. Here are some that sound potentially relevant (though might be just part of the story): 

Wine that lets you forget, either only painful things, or everything. 

Those who receive Visions will one day “disappear from the world” and what happens to them in the end is very fishy and probably bad. This tracks with Vennessa ascending to Celestia and the adeptus Nuhua also ascending. The young man who received a vision is referred to as one of the chosen, which sounds somewhat like what Dainsleif says in the chapter preview trailer, "Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs.” 

“True illuminating crystal” “formed from the unfulfilled desire and grief of illuminated beasts of the highest order when they reach the end of their life.” Illuminated beasts comes up elsewhere. Once in Qingce, where some stone beast statues are said to be “illuminated beasts who once fought alongside Rex Lapis in the Archon War.“ And also in reference to Yakshas, “Rex Lapis summoned Yakshas unto him to purge the daemons. Illuminated beasts of dreadful appearance and warlike temperament were they, and no brutality did they spare in their duty to defend.“ So the illuminated beasts are... yakshas?? The crystal heart the shopkeeper has specifically belonged to someone, too. 

One specific paragraph goes all in: 

“Legends claim that peering into a pure gemstone at a specific time can reveal the past, the future, and even someone's true nature.” We see this in an earlier volume. 

“Just as legends claim that somewhere in the world, there is a field of dandelions as vast as the sea.” Interesting, not sure if this is a specific reference. 

“Or that once there were three bright moons in the night sky named Aria, Sonnet and Canon, sisters who were parted by death in a great catastrophe.” This thing about the three moons is mentioned in more detail in Moonlit Bamboo Forest. Apparently the three moon women had a “silver carriage” (spaceship!!!) which they traded off controlling. But then they died and the current moon is their corpse. (The moon is fake, a giant spaceship, is what I’m saying.) 

“Or that there was once a witch who could see death before it took place, but in the end herself died from the broken heart, as he who had stolen it from her waited in distant lands longing to see her again.” Sounds specific. 

Speaking of, the shopkeeper is described as having fox-like golden eyes with thin lines for pupils. The woman in Moonlit Bamboo Forest is also described as having golden eyes, and there is mention at the start of foxes stealing people away. She’s also mentioned as wearing white. From what the crystal heart shows of the shopkeeper, she is extremely old. 

Dainsleif: 

On the official forum, there is this bit relating to him: 

"The original calamity had been overturned, yet the island in the sky set the earth to burn. Chalk pursues gold, in this time inopportune, the eclipse is swallowed by the crimson moon. The future must atone for bygone mistakes, as the bond familiar falters and breaks— of the same blood, elders and the youth..."

Chalk and gold sounds pretty blatantly about Albedo and Gold the alchemist, or the corruption he caused. 

Eclipse might have something to do with the Blacksun Dynasty of Khaenri’ah, which was originally called Eclipse Dynasty before a name change. Crimson moon doesn’t seem to have been referenced before in any obvious way, except this image (of the cataclysm?) during the We Will Be Reunited trailer: 

Speaking in a more general way about him narrating the Collected Miscellany videos, he projects pretty clearly over several characters, especially in regard to how finding out the truth of the world is a huge burden that robs you of the ability to feel everyday joy. Also, he is at least 500 years old, if not 1000. 

Khaenri’ah: 

From Albedo’s story: “Khaenri'ah was an underground realm, and its natural fauna were few indeed. As such, its alchemy focused more heavily on the creation of life. This art of creation was known as "The Art of Khemia."

"An eclipsed sun befell its kingdom and a luminous pearl lost its glow." This relating to how the Blacksun Dynasty fell during (causing?) the cataclysm. I wonder if the pearl here is related to the Genesis Pearl from the Gnostic Chorus trailer. 

"The alchemist known as Gold was corrupted by his own greed and ambition, and created an army of shadowy monsters with his uncanny powers."

However, the Bloodstained Knight stuff says something slightly different: “At the bottom of the world, he learned the origin of the monsters that destroyed the ancient kingdom. 'The ancient kingdom was wrongfully cursed,' 'Turning its inhabitants into monsters.' 'The code of chivalry tolerates not such injustice.'”

Of unclear relation, the hilichurls appeared 500 years ago, and one their tribes has some connection to eclipse (blacksun). 

[ms3ox]

So...about that new archon quest...

Khaenri’ah Theory

Before Present Storyline

> Archon War

~circa 2000 yrs. BP (bp = before present)

> Celestial Thrones determined by the Archons created

~circa 2000-1500 yrs. BP, original Gods include: Zhongli (Morax), Decarabian (Old Anemo God), Baal, Hydro Archon, Cryo Archon (NOT Tsaritsa yet), Dendro Archon (old one, I think the new one came 500 yrs. BP)

WARNING! THIS WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE NEW (1.4) ARCHON QUEST AS WELL AS CHARACTER STORIES!

___________________________________________________________

We begin with:

The nation of Khaenri’ah, the only nation in Teyvat WITHOUT a presiding God/Archon

Khaenri’ah, because of its godlessness, became known as a nation of human excellence

It can be deduced—also in part to the fact that many citizens of Teyvat do not know what a missile is— that Khaenri’ah, ESPECIALLY existing 500 yrs ago, was a very technologically advanced nation

It would also seem that much technology has been lost to Khaenri’ah’s destruction

I.E. ALBEDO. ← he has smth to do with it, he does not breathe (as seen in dragonspine, he is the only model that does not produce visible air), he has a star on his neck, he is not a human

Albedo may be a homonculus, made of chalk, a product of this human excellence !

Going off of historical analysis, Khaenri’ah may very well be modeled after Ancient Rome and the return of antiquity during the Renaissance

In Florence—500 years ago in our world— the ending of the plague brought a new wave of the ideas of Humanism, the celebration of the accomplishments of man; focused on the idea of human greatness

As we also know, historically, the Ancient Romans were also very technologically advanced for their time, building waterways, roads, and buildings that have been able to stand the tests of time for hundreds and hundreds of years

With humanism, however, came the idea that people would put themselves BEFORE God, an idea that had been previously deemed sacrilege

Seeing as many nations in Teyvat are modeled after real nations (i.e. Mondstadt → Germany, Snezhnaya → Russia, Liyue → China, Inazuma → Japan, etc.), it would make sense if Khaenri’ah is modeled after Italy, specifically during the formative ages of the Renaissance

It would also make sense that these people, seeing as they could achieve so many great things, would not see the need for a god or even denounce the gods as a whole, therefore representing that humanist line-of-thinking

This, understandably, would have angered the gods in Celestia because they might have felt that their authority was being questioned, therefore they had to eliminate the “threat”

The Destruction:

500 years before the beginning of the storyline, the Gods of Celestia strike down Khaenri’ah turning it into The Abyss.

✒️ Important Characters: Kaeya, Childe, the Tsaritsa, Dainsleif, and Lumine (written from perspective of an Aether player)

Overview:

Khaenri’ah, as a nation built and governed by its people, had become a target for the gods

The government—from what we know— was guarded by the 7 Protectors, strong, chosen warriors who dedicated their lives to fight for Khaenri’ah

The gods (presumably) did not like the humans having autonomy like the people of Khaenri’ah did

In a coordinated attack, the divine thrones destroyed Khaenri’ah, turning it into the abyss and cursing its people, either killing them or turning them into abyss monsters

There are a few Khaenri’ahn individuals who are separately affected by the curse however, including BUT NOT LIMITED TO: the Protectors and royalty

These individuals are most commonly cursed with immortality, but that may not be the only reprecussion

Characters:

Now, lets go over the most important characters who may have been directly or otherwise involved in the destruction.

Kaeya

-Kaeya’s personal story talks about how his father told him about the land of Khaenri’ah, where they were both from

-In his profile it states that he is also 22 years old.

-There are multiple ways to explain this but I am going to use the theory that he and his family were Khaenri’ahn royals (or a part of the Eclipse Dynasty family) who were cryogenically frozen for safekeeping during the destruction

-500~ years later, they woke up, and upon seeing the destruction cause around them, the family—including Kaeya— saw fit to leave

-Under normal circumstances, this theory would have no backing, but Kaeya says a line quite frequently in battle that may elude to the validity of this theory:

“This moment will be frozen in time!”

-Another user also pointed out that Kaeya’s elemental burst looks very similar to the cryo abyss mage’s shield reformation sequence wherein a bunch of diamond-shaped ice chunks rotate around it periodically until the shield is regenerated

-This further supports that Kaeya is involved with the Abyss, and by proxy, Khaenri’ah

-It has become common speculation that Kaeya is a spy, which makes sense seeing as everything about his demeanor screams “shady”

-From this standpoint, Logically, we can speculate that Kaeya may be a spy of some sort looking to restore the Khaenri’ahn monarchy

Lumine

-She and Aether canonically travel to Teyvat ~500 years ago where they witness firsthand the destruction of Khaenri’ah

-It is likely that the god who stopped them—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, I believe her title was— was a god who was involved in the destruction, and did not want humans meddling in Celestian territory at that time

-While the god’s motive for fighting the twins is still largely up to debate, the cubic cage that Aether gets sucked into may have put him to sleep, only for him to wake up 500 years later, thus leaving Lumine to face the destruction alone

-In the various game trailers, we see Lumine running through decrepit areas which sometimes look like Celestia, and another territory that is unfamilair

-If my thoughts are correct, this never-before-seen land may very well be a snapshot from Khaenri’ah itself during the destruction (edit: I’m pretty sure its Old Mondstadt)

-In these small scenes we see a block-like magic slowly chaining the world in very large pillars, which look much the same to the blocky magic the Sustainer used in the introductory scene

-Reasonably, after witnessing such destruction and conjuring a hatred of the gods, Lumine started the Abyss Order and became its princess, an order whose motives are still largely unknown at this point but seemingly want to interfere in the path of the traveler

-Though we still do not know the extent of the Abyssal hierarchy, because of the points of contingency in the goals of the Tsarista and Lumine, it may be logical that they are working together or are somehow related

-Lumine may have also been directly involved in dealing with the downfall of the Eclipse Dynasty and the destruction of Khaenri'ah because she seems to also have been cursed with immortality

-Due to the polarizing goals between Aether and Lumine up until this point, there may come a time during the game where Aether must choose between his sister and Teyvat

-A choice of this magnitude has already partially been revealed in leaks—if these leaks are to be correct, a lot hinges on them— and it would not be out of MiHoyo's wheelhouse to force us into such heavy situations (Honkai players I am looking at you)

-More about this decision theory will be explained under the Tsarista theory

Dainsleif

-Dainsleif, as revealed by Lumine, was a Royal Guard of the Eclipse Dynasty and was cursed with immortality upon the fall of Khaenri'ah

-Lumine also says that during the Destruction, Dainsleif failed whatever duty he had

-Logically, this would mean that Dainsleif failed to protect Khaenri'ah

-For reasons still unknown, Dainsleif hates the Abyss Order/The Abyss in general, and does not side with Lumine

-Though it is speculated that they were once traveling partners, and whatever happened to Lumine led Dainsleif to leave her side

Childe (godammit)

-Jesus Christ, where do I start with this magnet of chaos

-Childe—or Ajax at the time— left his home in Snezhnaya when he was 13-14

-On his journey, he fell into a crack in the ground, and fell into the Abyss

-He states in one of his quotes:

"I once ventured deep into the abyss and came face to face with an enormous beast. I don't know its name, all I know is the sight of it chilled me to the bone. But mark my words, one day I will march back in there and behead that beast, and you, comrade, will be my witness!"

-I believe at some point we will actually be fighting this beast, whether it be one of the final bosses of the Snezhnaya Chapter or one from the Khaenri'ah Chapter, I believe this beast will have something to do with either getting us to Khaenri'ah or it's somehow related to the Tsaritsa

-As he ventured further into the Abyss, he came across a brilliant swordswoman who taught him everything about fighting for 3 months

-However, when he came back from the Abyss, it had only been 3 days (MORE ABOUT THIS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE ABYSSAL THEORY SECTION)

-As we can see in his boss fight and in the fights with the Abyss Herald, a lot of Childe's fighting techniques seem alarmingly similar to the ones used by the Abyss Herald

-This leads me to believe that the swordswoman he trained with as a child was either an Abyss Herald herself or a Royal Guard from Khaenri'ah

-From what we also know, Childe is the only Harbinger who is able to wield BOTH a Vision and a Delusion simultaneously

The Tsaritsa

-Though the Tsaritsa was in power in Snezhnaya when the Destruction happened, it is very likely that she is related to Khaenri'ah based on the fact that she "was traumatized by it [The Destruction of Khaenri'ah]"

-Since she, herself, is seemingly still a human, it is reasonable to infer that the Tsaritsa was either: Eclipse Dynasty royalty or one of the Khaenri'ahn Royal Guards

-There is one line Dainsleif says where he tells the audience that she has no love for her people, neither to they harbor any for her

-Which makes sense since she is not originally from Snezhnaya

-While he is an incredibly biased source, Childe says something interesting about her:

"Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. And because she made an enemy of the world, I had the chance to become acquainted with you."

-What is interesting here is that Childe uses the phrase "Her Royal Highness" to describe the Tsaritsa

-In common royal etiquette, based on our world, you address a queen or the highest monarchical power as "His/Her Majesty" whereas other members like princes and princesses are addressed as "His/Her Royal Highness"

-This would imply that the Tsaritsa is not the one in ultimate control, and that there may be someone above her

-Of course this is very reachy-y but Childe's wording here is interesting

-Additionally, the Tsaritsa, as described by this quote, has waged war against the world because she dreams of peace

-We can see her ambitions in action by her confiscating the gnoses of the current Archons of Teyvat

-The Tsaritsa is most likely siding with Lumine under the same goal; they wish to dismantle the divine thrones in Celestia

-Ultimately, this leads me to believe that a heavy decision will happen toward the end of the Sneznhaya Chapter, likely in the final boss fight (possibly against the Tsaritsa herself)

-And if Aether does have to fight her, that would mean that he is also fighting against his sister since they seemingly share the same goal

-The Tsaritsa wielding the power of the Abyss to create Delusions somehow fits in here somewhere I just don't know how

-But the Tsaritsa is another example of a person(?) who can wield both an elemental power (cryo) and the power of Delusions

Abyssal Theory

In this section, I will be discussing my theories about the Abyss, about how time works there and its relation to Teyvat.

Concerning Time:

So as we know, Childe fell into the Abyss and stayed there for three months, however, in the over world only three days had passed

This means that every 12 days in the over world = 1 year in the Abyss

That means that every year in Teyvat = appx. 30 years in the Abyss

Time moves much faster in the Abyss, which can explain why Lumine is so old, yet may not have been cursed with immortality

Rather, she’s just been spending a lot of time in the Abyss

Concerning Teyvat:

This is where it gets interesting

There is a theory circulating that the Teyvat we are exploring right now is an alternate dimension, or a “flipped” Teyvat

Where it gets interesting is—CONCERNING CHILDE AGAIN— he falls into the Abyss through a crack in the ground

...

He falls.

How is that possible? Isn’t it reasonable to assume that Childe, only having left home for a few hours, was still in Snezhnaya?

Isn’t the only known location of the Abyss in the fallen Kingdom of Khaenri’ah?

How could the Abyss be under Snezhnaya if the Abyss is in Khaenri’ah?

This leads me to believe that underneath our Teyvat is the ruins of Old Teyvat

The Old Teyvat that was ruined by the Destruction of Khaenri’ah

This would also make sense in the context of the directions not being accurate in-game

For example, the wolf of the north, located on the map, is most definitely NOT towards the north, and rather, located in the WEST

The gods, after destroying Khaenri’ah, expanded their destruction to the rest of the continent, and to start over, they created an alternate dimension underneath/on top of Old Teyvat and New Teyvat

New Teyvat being the world we are currently exploring

So, in conclusion, underneath OUR world is an alternate Teyvat that was destroyed by the gods, and the world that we originally came to in the opening scene

This may explain a lot of the places Lumine runs through in those cutscenes, she is running through Old Teyvat

Maybe the people of Teyvat had their memories wiped? This would make sense in the context of the 1.1 event with Scaramouche where he says that “the stars are a lie”, and people may be seeing the “real” Teyvat, or having their memories re-awakened

Concerning the Final Archon Quests:

I believe that the beginning of the Khaenri’ah Chapter will be the end of the Snezhnaya Chapter

By which I mean that whatever final boss we fight in the Snezhnaya Chapter is will ultimately be the one to take us to Khaenri’ah or the Abyss

How this happens, I’m not sure, maybe there is a device in the beast Childe saw that could take us to Khaenri’ah, like the eye of the First Field Tiller, but I believe that the S Chapter and the K Chapter are intertwined

This also makes sense since the Tsaritsa and Khaenri’ah have such strong ties

Maybe we, too, fall into a crack in the ground...?

__________________________________________________________________________________

New Timeline

> Archon War

~2000 yrs. BP; War over the Divine Thrones

> Divine Thrones Established

~2000-1500 yrs. BP; The gods establish Archonhood

> The Destruction of Khaenri’ah/Old Teyvat

~500 yrs. BP; The gods did not like the people of Khaenri'ah and destroyed the land

> The Creation of New Teyvat/Alternate Teyvat

~500 yrs. BP; The gods involved in the Destruction create a new Teyvat since the Old Teyvat has been completely destroyed

> Lumine Creates the Abyss Order

~500 yrs. BP; Abyss Order created to fight against the unfair treatment of the Archons; “Do not trust the gods”

> Fight Against the Archons

~500 yrs. BP → Present; The Tsaritsa and Lumine work together to dismantle the Divine Thrones of Celestia

> Aether Wakes Up

~3 mo. BP; Aether wakes up from his—presumably— 500 year slumber, this is the catalyst to the Archon Quests

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to expand on these theories or point out inconsistencies with the actual lore, please let me know!

-devilscasserole